Volunteering

Volunteering is a great way to spend some of your spare time. There are enormous benefits that volunteering brings to the table in both a personal and professional capacity.

Volunteering can help you get a job

Volunteering improves your employability. A study conducted by Reed.co.uk showed that employers are 73% more likely to employ someone that volunteers over someone that doesn’t. Volunteering can fill any gaps in your CV and you can also enhance and develop new skills making you more employable and appealing to potential employers.It can help you with your career change. By taking a volunteering role in a field you wish to enter, it will allow you to test the waters without making a long term commitment. Many companies offer internships which allow you to get a feel for the job and avoid being stuck in a job that you later decide you do not like.Great networking. Taking part in a local community project is the perfect way to build contacts in local businesses and find out about job vacancies before they are advertised, giving you the jump on the competition.

Benefits of volunteering to the community:

Get to know the people you live with. By interacting with others in your community it will help you get a feel for the area and build a sense of pride in the community.Help build pride in the community Working together with others in the community helps bring a sense of pride to the local community, ensuring others look after facilities and surrounding area.Make you town happy Research has shown that residents in communities that have the highest level of volunteers are happier than those with lower levels of volunteering.

Did you know?

You can volunteer with the CCG by joining our YEAH! Youth Engagement and Health Group. Visit our YEAH! Youth Forum page to find out more.

Useful links

West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust www.wsh.nhs.uk welcomes people from the local community to become involved as volunteers in the hospital and acknowledges the contribution made by our volunteer team.